Hoping to keep momentum
Hot Aggies take unexpected week off in stride, envision playing later will help CFP dreams
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher celebrated a birthday this fall and in doing so became acutely aware he can now order off the 55plus menu at breakfast diners. His “milestone” birthday also led to another realization: It’s not worth losing your marbles over things beyond your power.
“I quit worrying about them, because they’re out of our control,” Fisher said when asked if the Aggies will play enough games this season tomake a clearcut impression on the College Football Playoff committee. “If we can play ’em we’ll play, but if the medical staff says we can’t, we won’t.
“Maybe it’s old age, but I’m learning to deal with those things a little better than I used to.”
Fisher and his fifthranked Aggies (5-1) found themselves unexpectedly out of commission on Saturday, when they were supposed to visit Tennessee (2-4) for the first time. That game has been rescheduled for Dec. 12 in Knoxville, Tenn., and chances are this Saturday’s game at Kyle Field against Mississippi will be rescheduled for Dec. 19.
The Aggies had three positive tests for COVID-19 in the past week, including two players, and the resulting contact tracing and its 14-day wait period put the program below the 53 scholarship players the SEC requires to play a game.
The Aggies entered last week on their biggest conference surge under Fisher, hired from Florida State three years ago to lead A&M to its first national title since 1939. A&M only has one remaining ranked teamon its schedule: at No. 24 Auburn on Dec. 5, and is in genuine contention for one of the four playoff spots for the first time this deep into November.
Prompting the question:
Does A&M’s unexpected time off a little more than midway through the 10game regular season hurt its chances at a playoff bid? Recent history would suggest yes. For instance, A&M enjoyed its scheduled offweek on Oct. 24, only to drop to No. 8 from No. 7 in the Associated Press poll while sitting idly by as others played.
The Aggies responded with double-digit victories over Arkansas (42-31) on Halloween and at South Carolina (48-3) last weekend and leaped two spots to No. 5. The first CFP ranking is scheduled for release on Nov. 24.
If A&M athletic director Ross Bjork had his druthers, he’d have enjoyed Aggies vs. Volunteers on Saturday with a pleasant view of the Tennessee River. With the matter out of his hands, however, he’s adopted a half-full approach to the unexpected time off in relation to the playoff.
“There’s a lot of momentum within our program on the field, and off the field with recruiting so that’s what’s disappointing about not playing,” Bjork said. “We were playing so well, and you hate to lose some of that rhythm.… But here’s what I see as a potential benefit: selection Sunday is Dec. 20, and our last game (prior to the schedule change) was Dec. 5. Let’s say we were sitting there at 9-1 and didn’t play those last two weeks and other teams are playing, and there’s an eyeball test.”
Bjork explained that adding a game on Dec. 12 (Tennessee) and perhaps Dec. 19 (Mississippi) should keep the Aggies fresher on the minds of committee members — with the major caveat that A&M takes care of business on the field between now and then.
“Those last two weekends and with the committee sitting in that room on Dec. 19 and Dec. 20, I think that can have a real impact on, ‘Wow, look at that Texas A&M team, look at how it’s playing, look at how they’re efficient on offense and defense – let’s put them in,’” Bjork said. “So I see the upside because we’d be playing later than normally scheduled. But we just need to win out – let’s win out and continue the momentum.”
The Aggies already have played six games, with their lone setback at topranked Alabama 52-24 on Oct. 3. Since then they’ve won four consecutive games, their longest winning streak in league contests in Fisher’s three seasons. The SEC with its Sept. 26 start began playing football sooner than the Big Ten and the Pac-12, and the latter intends to play a sevengame schedule.
“Heck, if we (stopped) playing right now, we’re going to play as much as a couple of conferences already,” Fisher said with a chuckle of his team’s overall impression on the playoff committee in mid-November. “You always want to get every game in, but it’s an unprecedented year.”
The committee, too, likely will explore pushing back its scheduled playoff game dates ( Jan. 1 for the semifinals and Jan. 11 for the final) with the idea of winding up with the four most worthy teams, but so far publicly has resisted the suggestion. In the end, however, the committee might not have any choice with the November spike in the virus prompting the postponement of four of the scheduled seven SEC games on Saturday.
“I’ve run 41 marathons in my life, and I learned that halfway in a marathon is not 13.1 miles, it’s someplace around miles 20 and 21,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said of trying to squeeze in the already abbreviated 10- game regular season schedule. “I’ve said, let me get through the games of Thanksgiving and then I’ll feel comfortable. Obviously, that has changed … and we have to adjust further within our programs to maintain the health that we did such a great job of early on.
“I’m certainly shaken, but not deterred.”